The Main Points of Genesis 4:1-16

Summary: Cain kills his younger brother Abel then faces God’s judgment.

Main Points

• We should give offerings to our Creator. Genesis 4 contains the first mention of sacrifice in the Bible and it occurs without explanation. Somehow Cain and Abel understood that they should give gifts to their Creator. Since Cain was a farmer, he brought some of the “fruits of the soil.” Abel was a shepherd so he brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (Gen 4:3-4 NIV). Later, in Leviticus, the third book of the Bible, Israel’s sacrificial system will be explained in detail. The entire system was a means of bonding with God. While animal sacrifices have ceased, the New Testament also refers to believers offering sacrifices to God. These offerings include our bodies, praise to God, and doing good and sharing with others (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15-16).

• The LORD’s judgment is fair not arbitrary. On the surface, the LORD’s judgment seems unfair. Why was Abel’s offering accepted and Cain’s rejected? The text doesn’t clearly state the problem with Cain’s sacrifice, but we can rule out the idea that Cain’s offering was deficient because it was composed of produce instead of animals. In Leviticus both kinds of offerings were approved. But listen closely to the text. After Cain expressed anger at God’s disfavor, the LORD said, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” (v. 7). God was not being unfair. Unlike Abel, Cain did not do what was right. Abel’s offering was better than Cain’s. The author of Hebrews writes, “By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings” (11:4). What did Cain do wrong? The narrative may be giving us a clue with this distinction: Abel gave “the firstborn of his flock,” while Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil.” The “firstborn” indicates Abel’s best animals. It seems, then, that Cain’s giving was miserly while Abel’s giving was generous. Why did Cain withhold his best from God? He must have lacked trust in God—he thought he had to take care of himself. He also must have had a low view of God by thinking, “God doesn’t deserve the best, I do.” Faulty offerings are rooted in a faulty attitude. We must admit, though, that if we gave an offering that wasn’t accepted, we would probably be angry and upset like Cain. After all, he did go through the trouble of giving something. Moreover, how would we feel about Abel, our younger brother, who was accepted? It’s easy to belittle Cain and think we are morally superior, but how different is our heart really from Cain’s heart? How often do we compare ourselves with others, ignore the deeper issues, and conclude, “That’s not fair”?

• Sin is an evil force ready to attack us. God tells Cain that sin is crouching at his door. Sin is more than our personal transgressions. Paul mentions how Jews and Gentiles are “all under the power of sin” (Rom 3:9; cf. Rom 6:6, 14). Hence, sin has attacked us and defeated us. Sin is ruling over humanity, but a Savior has come who enables us to rule over sin.

• Envy clouds our judgment. Why did Cain murder his brother? The text doesn’t make this clear, but it’s reasonable to assume that Cain was envious of Abel because Abel received something he wanted—God’s approval. How would killing Abel solve Cain’s rift with God? This makes no sense. Envy was distorting Cain’s reasoning. Instead of turning inward and changing his behavior or attitude, Cain targeted his brother.

• When we lie we are speaking the serpent’s language. When the LORD asked Cain, “Where is your brother, Abel?” Cain responded, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain killed Abel so he would have known where to find his body: “While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him” (v. 8). This is the first human lie in the Bible. Cain is now speaking the serpent’s language. Jesus called Satan, “the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).

• God is just so he defends the innocent and judges the guilty. God hears the cries of the victims. Contrast this with Roman mythology, which defends the murderer and blames the victim. For example, Romulus, the founder of Rome in 753 BC, kills his brother Remus. In the story Romulus is justified because Remus trespassed the city limits. The Bible, however, tells things from the side of the victims so it condemns the murderer. God confronts Cain with these words: “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth” (vv. 10-12). The comparison with Romulus and Remus comes from René Girard (1923-2015), a French philosopher and literary critic. In his readings of the world’s ancient literature, he noticed that myths defend the murderers because the story is told from their perspective. But the truth lies with the dead. It is the truth of the innocent victim. Girard observed that the Bible is unique because it repeatedly gives voice to victims, such as Abel, Joseph, Job, and Jesus.

• Sin leads to wandering. The LORD tells Cain that the ground will no longer produce for him and he will be a fugitive and wanderer. Then Cain leaves the LORD’s presence and lives in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Nod means wandering. Sin causes us to lose our comfort zone, our homeland. It drives us outside of where we belong. This is a recurring theme in the Bible: Adam and Eve sent out of the Garden of Eden, Cain driven from the land, and Israel exiled to Babylon.

• The Lord shows mercy in judgment. After Cain objected to his punishment, the LORD said anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times, “then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him” (v. 15). The mark must have been observable to others, but it’s not identified.

• God judges the guilty, but he also extends forgiveness to the guilty. The New Testament says the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Heb 12:22-24). How so? The blood of Abel cries out for justice: “The LORD said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.'” (v. 10). But the blood of Jesus cries out for forgiveness. While on the cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them . . .” (Lk 23:34). Paul writes, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph 1:7). Instead of condemning us, the blood of Jesus “purifies us from all sin” (1 Jn 1:7) and frees us from our sins (Rev 1:5). Admittedly, God’s forgiveness of Cain’s sin is not stated in Genesis 4, but the fact that God shows mercy to Cain leads us in this direction. God confronts and judges Cain, but he also protects him.

Here are the main points of Genesis 1-3.

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Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia and the U.S. I am passionate about the Bible and Bible related topics. Here’s a link to my book page.